The Water of Poseidon
by lunakitten
Summary: The summer before Harry's fifth year. Old legends reappear and new ones are made.
1. Miranda Appears

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The Water of Poseidon  
_  
Chapter 1  
_  
June 13, 1999  
  


It was the beginning of the end and both of them knew it.   
  
Their lips met and melded, in a fusion of undying love.  
  
Oh, Harry, she whispered. And then she was screaming. Screaming? But, this was all wrong. Then came the colors, the red, the yellow, the blue. And finally, the one shred of normalcy in this unending nightmare. The blackness came, and it was sweet.  
  


***  


  


July 24, 1996  
  


A girl sat on a train, writing. To any curious passerby who might sneak a look, she was writing a love letter to her boyfriend, Samuel. But, if they looked closer, if they were powerful enough to break the glamour charm upon her, they would have been horrified. The girl's long golden tresses would have faded and shriveled, to become a thick mat of dirty gray hair. Her porcelain smooth skin would have cracked and darkened, and become a series of scars and wrinkles. And if this innocent managed to tear their eyes away from her ugliness and glanced down at her paper, they would have lost all self control and run away in terror.   
  
The girl, person, thing was an amazing artist, it was true, but this talent made her drawings all the more disturbing. Hideously lifelike pictures of young boys being tortured in any number of gruesome ways stared up from the paper with haunted eyes of pain. Then, the watcher would begin to notice that the tortured boys were all the same boy. A teenaged boy with dark hair and glasses. Lastly, they would look at the bottom of the page and read the name surrounded with bloody knives and loops of rope. Harry Potter.  
  
***  
  
  
I can't breathe. I'll never make it. I'm going to die. And as his head broke through the surface of the water, Harry Potter gasped for breath. He rested for a moment and then slowly paddled over to the metal stepladder at the edge of the pool. Wearily he climbed out and collapsed onto a nearby deck chair.  
  
Swimming is a lot harder without gillyweed, he decided. He hadn't wanted to come, but he'd had no choice. Today was his cousin Dudley's fifteenth birthday and he'd told his parents that he wanted to go to the new water park they'd recently built outside of town. As per usual, his parents had agreed without protest. Harry smiled wryly to himself, thinking what his aunt and uncle would have said if he'd told them that next week, for his own fifteenth birthday, he'd wanted to come to the water park, as well. They would have probably locked him in the cupboard and thrown away the key.  
  
The thing is, thought Harry, I don't like water parks. I didn't even want to come today. Unfortunately, for Harry, his usual baby sitter, Mrs. Figg, was away at a cat show and couldn't take care of him. Harry had offered to stay home alone, but gave up on that after Uncle Vernon gave him a long lecture on how he'd wreck the house if he was alone and then sent him to his cupboard. Harry had had to stay in there until the Dursleys were finally asleep, so he could sneak up to his room and go to bed.  
  
A cold splash of water quickly shook him from his reverie and he put on his glasses and looked around. It was Dudley. Of course. Harry had nearly exploded, holding in his laughter, when he first saw Dudley in his bathing suit. When Dudley had dived into the pool, he had expected him to sink like a rock. To Harry's amazement, Dudley had turned out to be an exceptional swimmer. The water's buoyancy made him much lighter and faster, causing him to zip through the water like a minnow. A rather large minnow, but still a speedy one.  
  
Harry on the other hand, had never swum a stroke in his life, excepting the second task last year. That hadn't really counted, as the gillyweed had made him able to concentrate more on movement and less on breathing. Now, he discovered that without gillyweed, swimming like that just doesn't work. His first time in the water, he'd swum forward, opened his mouth to take a breath, and shot out of the water, choking. Dudley had thought it was hilarious and had spent the entire day showing off and mocking Harry.  
  
Is baby Harry afraid of the water? he shouted, laughing. Harry turned beet red as several people turned to stare.  
  
Go away, Dudley, he said, gritting his teeth.  
  
I can't believe you're nearly fifteen and you still can't swim! Dudley shouted back. A group of teenaged girls nearby started giggling. Harry wished he was back in his cupboard. Dudley opened his mouth to shout yet another insult, and then snapped it shut, his eyes widening with shock. He was staring at someone behind Harry. Harry looked down and saw two shadows. Two someones, then. Harry turned around to look and vertigo flooded his senses.  
  
There were two, but then one, or was it two? The person (persons?) looked at him strangely. He shook his head. He could see now. It was one person, a girl. There couldn't have been two shadows. He glanced over his shoulder. Yes, there was one shadow now. He must have just imagined the shadow or it must have been a trick of the light. He looked back at the girl and froze. He could see now why Dudley had looked so stunned. The girl looked about his age, with long golden hair, cornflower blue eyes, and porcelain smooth skin.  
  
she said, with a beautiful smile, I'm Miranda.


	2. Tritza Notices

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_Chapter 2  
_

  
Miranda, Miranda. The name spun up to the heavens. Over the stars and through the space it flew, faster and faster. Until, someone reached out and grabbed it. she sighed, When will you learn?  


  
***  
  


I'm...I'm Harry, he stammered. She smiled out him and gave him a knowing look.  
  
I've been watching you swim and you looked like you needed some help. Dudley let out a guffaw at this, but Miranda stayed focused on Harry and continued.  
  
Do you want me to give you some pointers? Harry stared in awe. This beautiful creature wanted to help _him_? A small part of his mind wondered why, but he ignored it. Miranda held out her hand to him and he reached towards it, closer, closer, almost there.  
  
yelled an angry voice. Harry jumped and quickly pulled his hand back. He turned around and found himself staring into the red face of his Uncle Vernon.  
  
Time to leave, he said.  
  
But Miranda... Harry protested, weakly.  
  
roared Vernon. Harry sighed.  
  
Sorry, Miranda, he said to her, Maybe, I'll see you next summer.  
  
Bye Harry! she called after him, as Vernon dragged him off.  
  
She waited until he was gone before she let the smile drop from her face.  
  
she growled. A giggle broke through her thoughts. She looked down at a small toddler playing with a plastic toy. The child noticed her stare and looked up, smiling at her angry face. Then all the child saw was darkness.  
  


***  
  


An old woman sat in an airplane reading a book. To any other passenger, she looked perfectly ordinary. Probably on her way to Europe to take one last journey before travel became to much for her in her advanced age. But even if a passenger knew better, even if they could break the magical shields around her, she would still remain the same. Old, withered, and alone. The only change they might notice would be within the book title. The woman was not reading a paperback detective mystery. She was, in fact, reading a quite unusual book. A leather bound book that looked quite old and whose title was stamped in gold in the front. A title reading, _Curses and Countercurses._ One might wonder if she herself had a curse set upon her and was searching for its counter. This was not the case. For some curses cannot be broken, no matter how powerful the breaker. Few people considered immortality a curse, but Tritza knew better.


	3. Sherry Disobeys

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_Chapter 3  
  
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Sherry fiddled with her hair as she eyed the trinket. Mummy had told her she musn't touch it, but this only made her want to play with it more. It was so pretty and shiny, she was already planning what great games she'd use it for. She nodded her head, decision made. She reached over and grabbed the object. But, it burned and it hurt, it hurt so badly. She thought she would scream, but stopped herself. Mummy would be mad at her if she made a noise and wrecked her meeting. She was praising herself for her thoughtfulness when she realized her hand still hurt and the pain was spreading. Why, all of the lights have been turned off, she thought faintly, I can't see.  
  
Sherry, no! screamed a panicked voice. It's Mummy, Sherry thought with relief, she'll help. But, wait, she's leaving and closing the door. She's locking it. Why isn't she helping me? What's going on? Sherry would have wondered about it more, but the pain had spread to her legs and she collapsed to the ground. She was dimly aware of a great crash and then someone was kneeling beside her.  
  
Open your hand! they shouted, Drop the amulet! What a good idea, Sherry thought, why didn't I think of that? She dropped the trinket and the man grabbed it and left. I thought he was helping. Where's he going? But the heat surrounded her, and Sherry wondered no more.  
  


***  
  


Uncle Vernon riffled through his newspaper, scanning the headlines.  
  
Look at this, Petunia, he called to his wife across the table, Eight people killed in a car accident near Devonshire.  
  
said Aunt Petunia, looking up from her toast, Anything else interesting happen over the weekend? Vernon continued to scan the newspaper, without result, until he hit the local news.  
  
Here we go. A mansion burned down in West Sussex, yesterday. Only one person was killed, though. An eight year old girl.  
  
What do you think she was doing home alone?  
  
Who cares? Dudley interjected, Can you pass me the funny pages, Dad? Vernon nodded and passed a section of the paper over to Dudley.  
  
Harry prodded his small grapefruit, feeling slightly saddened by his aunt and uncle's conversation. The last thing I need to think about right now is dying, he thought, trying to think hard of Quidditch instead. Unfortunately, it didn't work. He'd think of Quidditch and then think of playing as Seeker for the Gryffindor team at school, which would lead him right to thinking about Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker who had been killed last year. He shook himself. I need a new distraction. He turned to Uncle Vernon.  
  
Can I take a look at the paper? Vernon grunted and passed it to him. Harry opened it randomly and started reading. He realized, with a jolt, that it was the story about the fire. He skimmed it and noticed the picture at the bottom.   
  
  
_Sherry Addington, the only victim._' read the caption underneath. The picture showed a young girl, in a frilly party dress, smiling into the camera. She was surrounded by balloons, and a large pile of wrapped gifts sat next to her. It must have been her birthday, Harry thought absently. Something about the picture seemed strange, though. He couldn't figure it out. The girl seemed familiar. Then he had a thought. He pictured the girl, seven years older and in a bikini.  
  
He gasped in shock, oblivious to his relatives staring at him. _Miranda?  
  
_

***  
  


Fifty miles away, Remus Lupin stared at the same picture. He turned to Sirius Black, standing next to him.  
  
It has begun, he said, solemnly.  
  
said Sirius, grinning, Let's go get Harry, then  
  
  
**Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and words associated (Quidditch, Portkey, etc.) are the property of JK Rowling. I own all original characters, but nothing else.**


	4. Dumbledore Bowls

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_Chapter Four___  
  


The rain spilled over the rooftop and landed, forming muddy puddles on the street. Two feet walked through, splashing the water outwards. The feet continued to the door and waited while the hand knocked sharply against the wet wood. The door opened, with a creak, and the person quickly stepped inside. Another man's head peered past him, examining the empty street outside. After a few seconds, he nodded, satisfied. He turned and followed the other man into the house.  
  
Tritza knelt behind a trash can, trying not to make a noise. She waited for a minute and then released her held breath as she heard the slam of a door being closed. She climbed to her feet, wincing in pain, and softly muttered several words in Latin under her breath. Then, she was gone.  
  


***  
  


Minerva McGonagall entered the building and immediately wanted to leave it. The combination of garish lights, crashing explosions, and a strong smell of foot fungus, was too great an assault on her senses for her to bear. She made her way to the countertop, wrinkling her nose at the many shoes piled on top of it.  
  
Excuse me, she said, weakly, trying to catch the clerk's attention. He didn't look up. She cleared her throat.  
  
Excuse me! she called, louder. The clerk started and looked up at her.  
  
Can I help you... he trailed off. He stared at her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.  
  
Halloween came kind of early this year, huh? he laughed, gesturing to her scarlet robes. Her face colored with embarrassment, then anger.  
  
Never mind that! I'm looking for Al Dumbell. Is he here? she demanded.   
  
he said, and gestured behind her, He's over in Lane 6.  
  
Thank you, Minerva said, tersely. She turned around and made her way through the bowling alley, over to the lanes. She gritted her teeth as she tried to ignore the people pointing and staring at her strange attire.  
  
Lane 6 was occupied by two people. A young, dark haired man in a suit and tie and an older man, with silver hair, who was wearing Bermuda shorts and a leather jacket.  
  
There you are, Al, she said, approaching them, We've been looking for you everywhere.  
  
Hello, Minnie, said Albus Dumbledore, warmly, Would you like to join Sebastian and I in a game?  
  
We don't have time for that now, said Minerva, impatiently, We have a situation. You need to come to Hogwarts straight away.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, sighing as if a great burden had resettled upon his shoulders. He turned, gravely, to Severus Snape, beside him. Severus nodded, as well. The three of them quickly made their way to the exit and walked outside.  
  
In the dark street a man lay dozing against the wall. He jumped and looked over intently at the entrance to the bowling alley across the street. Three people in strange clothes had walked outside, and it looked as though they'd vanished. He scratched his head puzzled. They had told him to report in with anything suspicious looking. He decided disappearing people was suspicious enough for him. Goyle pulled a small stone out of his pocket and started whispering to it.  
  


***  
  


It was an accepted fact that she was extremely smart. In fact, Tritza mused to herself, you could call the girl a genius. So why was Hermione Granger standing alone on a London street at 2:30 in the morning. She sighed. She really did need to be at Hogwarts as soon as possible. But she couldn't leave a fifteen year old girl standing on a dark street in only her nightgown. Mind made up, she cautiously approached the girl.  
  
Hermione Granger? she asked. Hermione didn't respond. She remained standing, with a placid look on her face. Tritza began to get worried.  
  
she asked again, this time giving her a small shove. Hermione jerked and her eyes opened wide. She looked around, panicked.  
  
Where am I? she cried, Mum, Dad! Tritza quickly moved forward and clasped her hand over Hermione's mouth. Hermione turned to look at her and tried to scream. She started to struggle, evidently thinking Tritza was the one who'd brought her there. Tritza was starting to get frustrated. She didn't have the time to take her back home. She needed to give Dumbledore the information right away.  
  
I'll have to take you home later, she told Hermione, not feeling very happy with the idea, In the meantime you'll have to come with me to Hogwarts. She muttered a spell under her breath and they both disappeared.  
  
Seconds later, a man in a long black cloak rounded the corner. He scanned the street quickly and cursed to himself. He shook his ice blond hair out of his eyes. Then, to the great interest of a small boy digging through a trash can nearby, Lucius Malfoy also disappeared.  
  
  
**Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and words associated (Quidditch, Portkey, etc.) are the property of JK Rowling. I own all original characters, but nothing else.**


End file.
